Moffat falls 4-2 to Glenwood

Bulldog goals break two-game scoreless skid

Glenwood Springs  The Glenwood boys soccer team doesn't get to play under the lights very often, so Tuesday, the Demons made it count.

Glenwood defeated Moffat County 4-2 for a homecoming, Class 4A Western Slope League win.

"This was a must win for us," said Glenwood head coach John Mount. "The standings are evening up, so we really needed this."

Battle Mountain, who is still undefeated in league through eight games, is in sole possession of first place in the WSL, but Glenwood and Steamboat are now tied for second at 4-3-1.

The Demons got on the board quickly Tuesday, as Adam Sadowski fired a shot that bounced of the post and in front of Travis Whitman, who fired it into the net. Four minutes in Glenwood was up 1-0.

Moffat County bounced right back however, as Tracy Mendoza caught Glenwood sleeping and took the ball straight down the field after the kickoff for a score. The goal came less than 15 seconds after Glenwood and knotted the game at one.

In a very physical game, Glenwood (4-6-1 overall) took advantage of a few penalties against the Bulldogs. The first came 20 minutes into the first half when Fabian Tapia's direct kick was booted into the goal by Dillon Martin.

No one scored for the remainder of the half and Glenwood carried a 2-1 advantage into halftime.

Tapia had a hand in both of Glenwood's second-half goals, assisting Ryan Young's goal at the 23-minute mark and scoring his own on a penalty kick with 15 minutes left in the match.

"Everybody works hard. That's why we won," Tapia said. "We have a lot of chemistry in the middle."

Although they were down 4-1, Moffat County (2-6-0 WSL, 2-8-0 overall) wasn't going out without a fight. The Bulldogs had six shots on goal in the second half, and a few more that just missed.

"We had six shots that were within inches, just a bit wide," said Moffat head coach Seth Young.

With less than two minutes remaining, the Bulldogs got their own penalty kick and made Glenwood pay as Armando Lopez fired a shot passed Kurt

Hartman, who made some great saves in the game.

"They kept their heads up, they kept their spirits up and they generated a lot of stuff," Coach Young said of his team. "It was a good game. It was a fight to the finish, 4-2 isn't bad, and I am proud of them."

Realizing Moffat's speed up front, Mount switched his lineup at halftime and put in a speedier, but less experienced defense.

"I think that helped us out today," Mount said of the move. "After we got a few goals, we were able to hang back and play a possession game."

Glenwood has four regular- season games left on its schedule, including another match-up against Battle Mountain on Oct. 13 in Eagle-Vail. Tapia is hoping the team's improvement during the last week can help them even the season series.

"I think that we are good. I think we could beat Battle Mountain," he said. "If we play like this, we can beat Battle Mountain."

First though, Glenwood will see if it can win again under the lights with a showdown against Palisade at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction at 7 p.m. Thursday.